clumsy, small steps and where it would take us

7

At age 12, Thirdy's name has been ringing through all of the high school teams in town. A lot of coaches have visited his house; all were scouting him. His father was all smiles, welcoming them inside. Huge offers. It was massive for an incoming freshman like him, and he wondered if this was enough for his dad. He never had a chance to talk to those coaches. They were all mesmerized by the presence of Bong Ravena. His mom never failed to ask him if he wanted those schools.

His answer? I will go where Anton and Isaac will go.

And those schools took that into account.

By the second quarter of their last year as grade schoolers, the three remained athletes of Ateneo and will continue their studies at Ateneo High.

Thirdy's dad has always been about playing with Ateneo or La Salle, and he thought he would be happy with that.

His dad wasn't pleased about him bringing his friends along.

You don't need them, he says.

He cried in his room. He hates that he can't be with anyone.

...

On one of those days when his dad won't come home, his mom allows him to go outside, promising her he will be back before supper. Wearing his new Jordans, he ran out of their house and headed to Anton's.

He was welcomed by Anton's mom, telling her that her son was not home. Baka kasama sila Madeleine, she said. Thirdy tried to hide the disappointment on his face by smiling, telling her that he would look for them, and ran out of the lawn. The other two haven't talked with Thirdy since they were told that Ateneo High wants them on their team. Were they mad at him for wanting to be with them?

He walked on their street. He even looked at Isaac's place and found no one there. He went to Bea's place. He was about to ring the doorbell when he noticed a tall figure approaching him. He was familiar. He was there the first time he visited Bea's place.

"Wala si Bea diyan," the graduating high school student said. "Kasama siya nila Anton."

"Oh,"

The older boy tilted his head. "Friend ka nila, di ba? Bakit hindi mo sila kasama?"

There were no words that came out of Thirdy's mouth. He wanted to say, oh, I was late. But he wasn't. When was the last time he talked to his friends about their lives? He can't remember the last time they hung out outside the basketball court. He focused solely on basketball and failed to realize that his friends were drifting apart.

And Thirdy didn't know what to say.

Noticing how stiff Thirdy stood on the ground, the high school student gave him a small smile before pointing the way to the small court on their street. "Nandoon sila. Kanina pa."

Thirdy's eyes sparkled; he bowed to the older boy and quickly ran towards the court. Loel shook his head before he pulled out his house keys, unlocked the door, and thought of what to cook for dinner.

...

"Why do you look so sad?" Bea asked the two boys. "You were sought out too. Aren't you happy that you guys will remain in one team?"

After hearing the news, Bea and Maddie met the boys that other teams were recruiting them. They also wanted to tell them that Poveda recruited them and would start their training three months before graduation. Bea wanted to celebrate with them. She and Maddie even bought a roll cake, but the two boys were not ecstatic about it. Not even a bit.

"I don't know," Anton leaned back on the bench. "I wanted to be a basketball player and was lucky to be recruited, but this is not what I expected."

"Maybe because we were a package deal with Thirdy," Isaac muttered. "They were all about us because of Thirdy."